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DATA SUMMARYDATA TABLES
Having a usual and appropriate place for healthcare is an important way to ensure that people get regular preventive care. Such care can catch minor problems before they become serious. People with a usual and appropriate place for care have better health outcomes and fewer health disparities than those who do not.1 Our region has adopted a Bold Goal that 95% of the community will report having a usual and appropriate place to go for healthcare.
The Community Health Status Survey asks a series of questions about source of care2 to assess if adults in our region have a usual and appropriate place for healthcare.3
About 7 in 10 adults in the region (71%) reported having a usual and appropriate place for healthcare.
This percentage rose from 74% in 2005 to 82% in 2013, but declined in 2017. During that time adults in the region who previously had been uninsured gained coverage because of changes in the healthcare system.
Research suggests that newly insured adults may not be as settled into a preventive healthcare routine.4 This may explain why they are less likely than previously insured adults to have a usual place for care.
CHSS found that the percentage of insured adults who reported having a usual and appropriate place for care dropped from 88% in 2013 to 73% in 2017. In addition, insured adults who bought their own plan were less likely to report a usual and appropriate place for care in 2017 (60%) than in 2013 (85%).
Future surveys will be needed to determine if this is temporary or a new trend in accessing a usual and appropriate place for care.
Older adults are more likely than younger adults to report having a usual and appropriate place for healthcare. Nearly 9 in 10 adults ages 65 and older (86%) reported having a usual and appropriate place for healthcare. That compares with about half of adults ages 18 to 29 (55%).
Having a usual and appropriate place for healthcare also varies by insurance status. Just fewer than 5 in 10 uninsured adults (48%) reported having a usual and appropriate place for healthcare. That compares with 7 in 10 insured adults (73%).
1 Healthy People 2020. (2016). Access of Health Services. Accessed April 21, 2017, at https://www. healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/Access-to-Health-Services.
2 CHSS asks, "Is there one particular clinic, health center, doctor's office, or other place that you usually go to if you are sick or need advice about your health?" and "When you are sick or need advice about your health, to which one of the following places do you usually go? Would you say a private doctor's office other than a public health clinic or community-based health center, a communitybased health center or public health clinic, a clinic at a retail store, a hospital outpatient department, a hospital emergency room, urgent care center, or some other kind of place?"
3 For this analysis private doctors' offices, community- based health clinics, public health clinics, clinics at retail stores and hospital outpatient departments are considered appropriate sources of healthcare.
4 Garfield, R. and Young, K. (2015) "How Does Gaining Coverage Affect People's Lives? Access, Utilization, and Financial Security among Newly Insured Adults." Accessed May 16, 2017, at http://kff.org/report-section/how-does-gaining-coverage-affectpeoples-lives-issue-brief/.
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